Rubber Floor Maintanence

Your rubber rolls or tiles are fully installed and now you are wondering the best way to keep them clean and looking new.

With a little planning and the proper rubber floor maintenance program, you will be amazed just how good your sports surfaces will look for years to come.

Let’s begin with the initial post installation cleanup:

Depending on how dirty your floors became during the installation process will determine which method you will use below.

For lightly soiled surfaces continue on here. For heavily soiled surfaces where dirt and debris have been ground into the top of the surface, continue on to the Heavily Soiled Surfaces section below.

Lightly Soiled Surfaces:

Hopefully your installers were careful and did not make a mess installing your new sports surface and you will only need to sweep and lightly mop.

Begin by removing all surface debris, grit, sand and soil with a broom. Next, vacuum the entire rubber floor with a high CFM vacuum to ensure the finer dirt and grit is removed.

Once the surface is cleaned, inspect all the seams to make sure that none of the adhesive has been spilled or seeped through the seams. If you find any adhesive on the surface, try scraping it off or using a high concentration of a neutral cleaner.

Note: Never use mineral spirits, paint thinners or strippers or any petroleum based product to clean your new athletic surface.

Now it is time to mop your floor. You can use a regular string mop or a micro fiber flat mop with a mild solution of a neutral pH (7-9) cleaner.

Taski Profi cleaner is an excellent choice for rubber but any neutral cleaner will work. Damp mop the surface until you have removed all visible dirt, sand and grime.

Note: Do not flood the floor: Only damp mop!

Heavily Soiled Surfaces.

For heavily soiled Surfaces, remove all surface debris, grit, sand and soil with a broom and vacuum with a high CFM vacuum. If the rubber floor is especially dirty you may want to hand mop some of the worst areas before you begin.

This is now where you will have to decide if the floor is able to be cleaned using the hand mop method or if it will require using a power buffer or auto scrubber.

When using a buffer or auto scrubber, use only a mild pad or a soft nylon brush. If you are using a buffer, wet the area and buff only a workable area that can be completely buffed and vacuumed in 15 minutes.

Do not let the cleaning solution stand on the rubber floor for long periods of time.

After you have thoroughly buffed an area, pick up the solution with a wet / dry vacuum and repeat if necessary. For extremely heavy soil or for restorative cleaning, you may need to repeat the process with a more aggressive black pad in order to remove the dirt.

Once the surface is satisfactorily cleaned, you will need to rinse the surface with clean water. This can either be done with a hand mop or an auto scrubber.

If your rubber flooring is in new construction, it is not uncommon for it to get very dirty before it is time to install your furniture or equipment.

If other trades such as finish carpenters, dry wall installers, painters etc, have to complete work after the rubber floor is installed, make sure it is covered with plastic sheeting, tarps or Kraft paper.

We once had a floor installed and the contractor came in and removed a large section of drywall. Well, during the drywall process a lot of sanding was done and the beautiful grey speckled rubber floor was left completely white with drywall dust.

Fortunately we were able to remove the drywall dust, but it took a lot of man hours and unnecessary extra work that could have been prevented by simply covering the floor.

Regular Maintenance:

To keep your floors looking great, remember that just like any other flooring, the more you sweep, vacuum and mop it, the longer it will keep looking good.

For daily cleaning, sweep or vacuum to remove all dirt and sand. If the floor is not heavily used, you will only have to mop periodically and it will not be necessary to mop every day.

The key is to keep as much dirt and grime off the floor and to clean up any spills quickly. Make sure that you have good entry mats at all doors to remove dirt from shoes before going onto the new sports surface.

Note: Remember you can always call the experts at Rubber Flooring Direct if you have any additional questions regarding your cleaning and maintenance program. We love to help our customers! Call 1-800-279-1693. We are here for you!